Saturday 6 December 2014

Five people in an Earthcruiser in snow.

6/12/14
Our family has been with us for a week now. We have travelled west of Tokyo into the Alps, showing them the deep gorges, many tunnels and bridges. 

There are five of us. Jono and Emma are occupying the "penthouse" roof -top tent. Zef sleeps accross the seat/table area, and of course we are in our usual bed. 

A highlight of the trip for them has been the "snow monkeys" or "Onsen monkeys". Unfortunately there had not been significant snow when we got there, but of course the monkeys are their own attraction, and they were in the onsen. 



But two days later the snow started! And we had at least a meter of snow overnight. This may not seem too exciting for those of my friends who live in cold climates but for us it was a wonderland. 
We have not experienced snow men really so of course we fixed that! 


The snow was above my knees on day two of the snow. The tent couldn't hold up its load at first and the struts had to be locked. 



We have found that on evenings when the temp is below zero we would rather not sit outside. The five of us can be inside even while cooking is going on. - two on each bed and one cooking. It's quite comfortable. 

The biggest problem for us in this weather has been condensation mainly in the tent. Even with the provided insulating silver layer the condensation is causing problems. We badly need a dry day to get some things dry. In the EC there is also a lot of condensation despite venting the kitchen while cooking (fan directed at the window) and wiping down the vinyl often. 

Today we headed for the Coast to get some relief from the snow -and guess what! It is still snowing right down to the beaches. 

 White snow black sand. 


But one pleasure in this weather is a hot onsen, or rotemburo. Of course I can't show you photos but sitting in a rock pool in 40 degree water with snow falling on your head is very pleasant indeed. 

We are heading south now to Hiroshima, where it is (hopefully) not snowing. 








Monday 24 November 2014

Shikoku

22/11/14
We have increased our pace because we don't have much time left, with our family coming in under a week, and we have to pick them up in Tokyo. So contrary to our usual practice we took a highway southwards across Honshu to Shikoku. 

Shikoku and Honshu are connected by an incredible bridge. 



 We slept the first night on a hill overlooking  the North of Shikoku. You can see the pollution layer from up there and it's not pretty! Japan blames China for much of its pollution, but we could clearly see a number of smoke stacks, including one from a coal fired power station. They are not steam emissions either. 

 We only have a short time in Shikoku so we decided to restrict ourselves to the north-East corner. This is the Ise valley. It is incredibly steep with a jade green (clear) stream in the bottom. The road is very narrow in places and there was quite bit of backing up to find a passing place for oncoming traffic. But it was also very picturesque. 

 We stopped at Ise-onsen, initially for a cup of coffee and the view. Then we saw the cable car and realised that there is a rotemburo (outdoor public bath) at the bottom of the slope on the river. In this distant photo you can see the cafe at the top of the slope and the lights on the cable car and then the onsen light at the bottom. 


This is one of the nicer rotemburos we have found in Japan. (Do I always say that?). The surroundings are superb and the temperature just right for a long soak. In addition in the women's bath was a mother and two daughters who had all been to Australia. So I was able to have a very pleasant conversation with them. 




 That evening didn't go so well though. We were camped in a roadside parking lot. There was a toilet but the steps were not well designed, with the handrail finishing before the steps finished. In the dark I though I was on the bottom step....... Sprained ankle! At least it's not broken! And I can still get up into the Earthcruiser. 

 It seems to be a Japanese thing that each town needs something to be famous for. Well this is the "Town of Scarecrows"! In this area we also saw mention of the crisis in declining population in Japanese rural towns. Well this one way to feel as though the place is well populated.  These scarecrows are everywhere- in bus shelters, up light poles, in cafes. They are cute! 

 This bridge and two others like it are made from wild wisteria vines. Nowadays this is enhanced by wire ropes ("for safety") but they are very authentic looking and romantic. They were first built here  in the 1600s

 And then we went to a Japanese traditional dancing show. It was very flamboyant, with demure girls and jumping and aggressive looking men. As is the Japanese way we were pressured to join in - and my sprained ankle came in handy - I had been practising the sentence and it served me well (Ashi kubi geitei!) 

One last feature of Shikoku not be missed is the whirlpool phenomenon under the bridge in Naruta. Here there is a bottleneck for tidal flows and a sea level difference of up to 1.5m between the two parts of the inland sea. The current here can reach 20kmph, and the shearing effect causes whirlpools to form on the change of the tides. We were caught in a waiting line for parking so missed the peak of the phenomenon, but still it was well worth seeing. 



That's all we have time for on Shikoku and it's northwards tomorrow!








Wednesday 19 November 2014

North Coast of South West Honshu

19/11/14

Here are some snippets of our travels in South-western Honshu.

This shrine in Echizen (Fukui prefecture) gets my vote for the most picturesque I have seen so far. 


 The fallen leaves of the Ginko tree makes a yellow carpet. 

 One of the best camping spots we've found yet, on one of three lakes at  Mihama, Fukui Prefecture. It was wonderful sitting outside until dark. Then it started raining, blowing, thunder and lightening. It blew so hard I was glad the vehicle weighs 5.5 Tonnes so it wouldn't be blown into the lake! 

 These square structures are fish farms. Those guys standing around are fishing in them, with rods! That's not fair! 

 This part of the coast around Fukui Prefecture. It is an incredibly complex coastline, with magnificent vistas. It well worth the drive here to see this coast. 

 This is Ine, Minami, in Kyoto Prefecture. This little village reminded me of Venice with its boat storage on the lower floor. It is a very protected bay where the water level must be fairly constant. Very picturesque. 

 Tottori is known for its sand dunes. The dune area looks like a blow out as we would call it on Frazer Is. It is tiny by comparison with Frazer Is or Moreton Is. 

But it not how big it is it's what they do with it. 

There are camel rides, you can have your photograph taken in a Lawrence of Arabia costume and standing next to a camel. Resturaunts have items on the menu named around sand. There is a chair lift over the dunes. 

But best of all there is the Sand Museum. This is a three story building housing sand sculptures. And these are no ordinary sand sculptures. They are done by champion sand sculptures, and they are truely magnificent. 


 The theme of this year's display is Russia. This sculpture depicts the Siberian railway. 

 This one tells of Cossack wars.

There were many others. All of them had incredible detail, including facial expressions, cloth details. They are made of sand and water only, no glue, and they stay standing for a year. Next year the theme will change. 

From a small area of sand dunes they have made a huge tourist attraction! I'm sure there are places in Australua that could learn from this! 









Saturday 15 November 2014

Snow, ice, and another rescue

15/11/14
The last few days have been cold ( -2degrees C at 10am) raining, sleeting, hailing, and snowing). The mountains have a dusting of snow, and anywhere above about 1000m has snow on the ground. 



We tried to cross a range going westwards from Takayama, and as we get higher it was snowing. It was magical and we wanted to camp near the pass (1700m) but we were aware of our inexperience with snow and ice so we pushed on to lower elevations. In the morning it was evident that there had been significant snow fall on the mountain. We decided to go back up to see what we had missed. 


As we rose we could see ice on the road. We had changed our front tyres with the spares the day before, so we had good grip. And we were in 4 WD. However we were a little nervous. We passed someone coming down and he said it was O.k, so on we went. 

 Icicles on a waterfall.

Around the next corner there was a vehicle which had slid into the guard rail! The man was out of the vehicle waving us down, and the wife was looking out her window at the drop below her. As we pulled up, he pointed hopefully at our winch, and we decided to stop and winch them onto the road again. With our recent experience with the winch we might have appeared very professional as we located the bits we needed, attached the winch to his strong point, and slowly but surely winched him back onto the road. 



As is the Japanese way he gave us a gift, of a USB with what he described as some "photos of this area". 
Maybe he is a photographer so I won't share his photos here, but suffice to say that I am inspired to get a better camera!

But from our perspective we realised that he was lucky that the guard rail could hold the weight of his car.....

So we continued even more carefully and slowly. 

In the end all went well. 

Today it was raining again. We were in Takayama where there is an "old section", of buildings in the old timber style. In fact there are streets of such buildings, with tourist outlets these days, but with a distinct historic feel about them. We wandered along the streets eating street food such as mochi with miso paste or with soy sauce. We looked at laquered goods, carved masks, woven sandals, and the river with Ducks, salmon, and Koi. 

I needed a haircut so we went into a salon, which was not clearly a man's or women's hair cutting place. I explained what I wanted. There was definitely a communication problem. Maybe I should have been more wary when he began to cut without washing my hair first, and without the usual head massage.....but I ended up with part crew cut and part hair cut. The crown if my head has been cut short. It must grow straight up in a few weeks!  I can't imagine how it can work out. So I bought a hat today to cover it. What a mess! 

In the end we decided to camp in the parking area in the old area of Takayama. Nobody bothered us and in the morning we were the only vehicle in the parking area ( it was a 24 hour paid parking lot). It was not the quietest camping spot but in the morning we were well placed for the morning markets in the nearby streets. 

16/11/14
However our next camping spot was worse. 
This is what we awoke to...


This turned out be a work group of power lines-men. We were able to watch their pre-work meeting. My guess is that it was the safety talk, allocation of jobs etc. this is the second time we have seen this. It also includes a reading which seems to be devotional, with everyone bowing their heads. Then there is a short chant and a shout and they are off. 

Well I hope it was a safety talk because shortly afterwards these guys were 100 m up on a high power line lying along the wires like rope walkers, working with electricity. It was amazing to watch.










Wednesday 12 November 2014

High mountains, lakes, and vehicle storage.

13/11/14

In Omachi we met Yura in a supermarket. He describes himself as a Russian Jew who has lived in Japan for 20 years. He was in a high mood since he had just finallised the purchase of a block of land. 

 The land is on a slope over looking a lake, and has a number of derelict buildings. This house looks far gone, but it has beautiful big, old beams which can be salvaged for the new house he plans to build. 


 Check out the view from his house! 

Despite his celebratory mood Yura took the time to introduce us to his friends Ito and Jun who operate the Pow Wow camp site. With Yura's help we came to an agreement for them to look after our vehicle while we return to Australia in December. The only problem is the high snow fall in this area, but Ito is willing to keep the solar panels free of snow from time to time so that the batteries can be charged. It is a great relief for us to have somewhere safe for the vehicle. 






 This is a small public toilet in a parking area. I show you this to illustrate a noticeable difference between privacy standard in Australia and Japan. A woman looking for the "Ladies" must walk past the "gents". In doing so she finds this view of the men's urinals. 


And in case you haven't come across Nato yet, here is our new favourite breakfast food. It is perfect for vegans - cultured soy beans. 

 Japanese people say that westerners cannot eat Nato, but we have proved them wrong. They are always amazed when they see us eating it. 

 It certainly is gooey, but there is no objectionable odour and the taste is mild. We enjoy it. 

It is snowing in the mountains around our current position at Matsumoto. Winter is starting. 










Saturday 8 November 2014

Oh! My! What a day!

U9/11/14

The onsen town of Kusatsu has a central spring which supplies all of the tien's Onsens with sulphurous water that is so acidic it tastes like lemon juice. It is said to have healing properties, and can heal anything except a broken heart! I tried it out on my fly bites -and guess what? -They dried up!


 This chute delivers thousands of liters per hour. It is in the centre of the town and the whole town smells of sulphur. 

We wanted to go from there to the rim of the nearby volcano (Mt Shirane-San), but were told that volcano is on eruption alert and trips to the rim are cancelled! Never the less we took the road which goes within a few kms of the rim.... (Joe says he is a type A personality - risk taker- I had another descriptive term, but I did agree to it). 

 Those white spots are the steam vents and you can see the rim of the crater. We did not day though because of a little anxiety, but the road onwards was certainly spectacular with rows and rows of mountain ranges and a pass at 2172m. 




And next - the "snow monkeys"! At 850 meters there is no snow yet for this season, but the monkeys are still enjoying the 42 degree hot spring. 


 That's the nipple in the baby's mouth.

This little fella was swimming and swimming around in the pool. Half of the time he was underwater but didn't seem to be in any distress.

 They cuddle together to keep warm and indulge in some friendly flea hunting. 



There was a 30 minute walk to see these critters, but plenty of people made it there. The interaction between the monkeys and people was of mutual respect and mostly the monkies ignored us. 

An enhancement to this experience would be to see them after the snow has fallen. We plan to do that 30 min walk again, in the snow, with our family when they arrive later this month. So look forward to more photos. 

Last night we camped in a clearing on a mountain at about 800m. It was cold but we had a camp-fire. We were troubled by what we thought were cries for help coming from the forest below us. We drove down the road to get closer to the calls but could not locate them. There were Japanese farmers between us and the calls and they were not reacting, so we gave up. But the calls went on all night and I could imagine how it might be to be lost in that forest on such a cold night. 

In the clear light of morning we realised that the calling was still going on, but that there were lots of gun shots going off as well. Our best guess is that what we heard was a recording of voices to keep away deer and bears from the farms. So nobody froze at all!